Leashing

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈliːʃɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The act of fastening an animal to a leash to control its movement
2. Securing a pet or animal by connecting it to a lead to prevent it from wandering
3. The process of attaching an animal to a tether for restraint or guidance purposes

Etymology: "Leashing" is simply the verb "leash" with the "-ing" ending, so its story is really the story of "leash," which began as a word for a loose, slack thing. The noun traces back to Old French "lesse," which is either from Latin "laxa," meaning "loose," or, more probably, from a verb "lesser" (modern French "laissier") derived from Latin "laxāre," meaning "to loosen." English "lax" comes from the same Latin root, so "leash" and "lax" are close relatives. The Old French word is also the source of "laisse" in modern French, and the two came into English by different routes, making them doublets. Here the word's meaning flips in an odd way: a thing that once meant a loose line gradually came to mean the strap that holds an animal firmly in place. The "loose" sense survives in the idea of a dog being let off its leash. "Leashing," then, is the act of restraining an animal with that tether, the reverse of what the original root suggested.

Synonyms: tethering, binding